Building a cross-national research dialogue on elections and election administration between the USA and France

• Published in: French politics 2024-06, Vol.22 (2), p.164-170
• Main Author: Ritter, Michael J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Comparative Politics; Democracy; Election law; Elections; Electoral systems; Equality; Essays; European Politics; Political Science; Political Science and International Relations; Political Science and International Studies; Roundtable; State elections; Voter turnout
• ISSN: 1476-3419; 1476-3427
• DOI: 10.1057/s41253-024-00242-7

The book, Accessible Elections: How the States Can Help Americans Vote (2020) from the Oxford University Press by Michael J. Ritter and Caroline J. Tolbert, examines how American state election laws and administrative provisions impact voter turnout, turnout equality, and campaign activity in the USA. Recently, this book was the centerpiece of an author-meets-critics “Accessible Elections” roundtable discussion at the 2023 American Political Science Association conference, a roundtable replete with numerous experts on American and French election studies. Promoting a Franco-American comparative election studies research dialogue was a key goal of this roundtable and the resulting essays. This essay summarizes, examines, and explores the Accessible Elections research, the roundtable discussion, similarities and dissimilarities between the American and French electoral systems, and foreshadows possible areas of future comparative election studies research. The “Accessible Voting” roundtable discussion and the resulting essays offer key insights regarding elections and democracy in the USA, France, and other countries.